Street-car heater



STREET CAR HEATER Filed 001;. 4, 1922 Fig.1. u

go) I I INVENTOR 1 James C; Woodson.

BY W Patented Apr. 14, 192 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. WOODSON, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC I PRODUCTS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

STREET-CAR HEATER.

Application filed October 4, 1922. Serial No. 592,267.

To all whom it may concern: 4

Be it known that I, JAMES C. VVooosoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street-Car Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric heating devices and particularly to electric street- .car heaters.

The object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple, rugged and compact electric heater for use in street cars.

' In practicing my invention, 1 provide a casing comprising two end castings, ajperforated cover member constituting three sides of the casing, and a reflectorback, the cover and the back being bolted to flanges integral with the end castings. Encased heating elements are located in the casing and supported by lugs integral with the end castings. A combined guard, foot rest and deflector plate is supported above the casing by flanges integral with the end castings.

In the single sheet of drawings,

Figure 1 is a view, in front elevation, of a device embodying my invention, the cover being broken away,

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in section, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, illustrating the mounting of the heating elements, taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2.

An electric heater, designated generall by the numeral 11, comprises two space opposed end castings 12 and 13 which are substantially rectangular in contour and are severally provided with a plurality of integral, laterally extending lugs 14 to permit of bolting the heater against the wall or the truss plank of a street car. Each of the end castings is provided with a plurality of integral and laterally extending flanges 15 and 16. The flange 15 is located adjacent the rear edge of each of the members 12 and 13 and is substantially straight.

The flange 16 extends along the bottom edge of each of the members 12 and 13 for the greater portion of the length of the front edge thereof and then extends backwardly intermediate the top and the bottom edges of the members 12 and 13, whereby a flange of suggtdantlally U-shape in outline is prov1 operation.

A metallic reflector plate 17 extends between the two end castings and is secured thereto against the flanges 15 by a plurality of screws 18 and nuts 19. WVhile the plate 17 may be made of any suitable or desired material, I prefer to make the same of aluminum in order that the surface thereof shall remain relatively clean and bright for a long time, under ordinary conditions of vantage of being a relatively good reflector of heat and it is desired to cause the heat to be reflected out into the car rather than permit it to be dissipated to any great extent from the back of the electric heating.

' A cover member 20 comp-rises a perforated metal plate bent to substantially U-shape in lateral section and having return-bent end portions in order to stifien the edges thereof. The member 20 may be secured in its Aluminum has the further ad proper operative position by means of screws 21 extending through suitable openings in the plate and in the respective flanges 16 of the end castings. Any suitable or desired style of perforation may be employed, as it is intended that a circulation of air shall be established from the bottom through to the top of the cover past heating elements located within the cover member. The relative lateral widths of the reflector back 15 and of the cover member 28 is such that the edges thereof are located closely adjacent to, but out of contact with, each other in order to facilitate the assembly of these parts on the end castings.

Each of the end castings is provided with a plurality of integral and inwardly extending lugs 22, the surfaces of which are disposed at angles of substantially 45 to the vertical axis of the end castings. A plurality of encased electrical heating elements, designated by the numeral 23, extend between the end castings and are operatively supported by the lugs 22. The heating elements 23 are not illustrated particularly, as any desired construction may be employed, and are here illustrated as comprising a suitable resistor member insulatedly mounted in a relatively thin, fiat elongated metal casing, adjacent to the ends of which are mounted suitable terminal members comprising a bolt 24 and a plurality of nuts 25 mounted thereon. A plurality of refractory and the lug 22 in order to fully insulate the heating element from the metal end casting. The refractory disks 26 may be of any suitable or desired construction and contour but are here shown as substantially circular fiat disks, each having a shoulder portion which is adapted to fit into an opening 27 in the lug 22 in order to assist in preventing any movement of the heating element relatively to the end castings. A bolt 28 and a nut 29 are employed to hold the heating element 23, at each end, against the lug 22.

Any suitable or desired construction and arrangement of electric-circuit conductors to the heating elements 23 may be employed, the conductors being led into the casing through an opening 31 in one of the end castings. As this detail forms no part of my present invention, it is not further illustrated or described. As it is intended that this type of heater shall be secured against the truss plank of a street car, it is subject to relatively hard Wear and, in order to protect the perforated casing 19, as Well as to provide a deflector for the heated air traversing the perforated cover, I provide a combined guard, foot rest, and deflector plate located above the casing.

A metallic plate 32, having suitable curved edge portions, is held in an inclined position above the casing containing the heating elements by integral flanged members 33 on each of the end castings. Bolts 34 and nuts 35 may be employed to hold the plate 32 in its proper position, substantially as is indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The hereinbefore described construction provides a heater comprising relatively few parts, adapted to be mounted against the side of a street car 'and having provisions for permitting air to flow through the casing thereof and also having means for protecting the casing against accidental injury from passengers in the car.

Various changes in detail and arrangement may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and such modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electric street-car heater, in combination, a pair of end castings, an elongated perforated three-sided cover member secured to said end castings at the edges of one of said sides, a reflector secured to said end castings at the open side of said cover member, heating elements supported by said end castings wlthin said cover member, and a combined guard and foot-rest secured to said end castings above said cover member.

2. In an electric street-car heater, in combination, a casing comprising a pair of end castings, a perforated cover member and a reflector back, all operatively secured together, heating elements in said casing supported by lugs integral with said end castings, and a combined foot-rest, guard and deflector plate supported above said casing by said end castings.

In testimony whereof, ll have hereunto subscribed my name this 28th day of September, 1922.

JAMES C. WOODSON. 

